Leadership of Wild Hunt
by FUHRER YISEEKS
Summary: Following the death of Syura, Kagami races to take advantage. *Preview for new series*


"Wh-wh-whaaa?! Syura...is...dead?!" Honest exclaimed, his expression that of saddened disbelief. The extent of his distress was enough that he even dropped a large piece of steak on the ground, causing a mess for the wait staff to clean up. He looked between Kagami, who had been discussing the recent disbanding of Wild Hunt, and Dorothea, the blonde alchemist who brought him the news of his son's fate.

Dorothea nodded, staring at the ground and a look of pity on her face. She hadn't really liked Syura, but even she had to admit he was a surprisingly good commander when he wasn't striving for the attention of his father. "Yes...He was too eager. I found his corpse in the cell with that Night Raid member, Lubbock. The prisoners were nowhere to be found, and General Esdeath reported that Tatsumi too has been freed."

Kagami stared wide-eyed at Dorothea, and held a hand up to his head in silence. To say he was shocked was an understatement; Syura was a hero to him, the powerful Commander who had fun with those under his command and showed no mercy to his enemies. Despite his respect for the man, however, the white haired soldier couldn't help the slight upturning of his mouth. _'One out of Three so far, Bols...'_ He thought, the memory of that gruesome scene at the graveyard playing through his mind. Well aware of the presence of the two other people in the room, he spoke aloud. "No way...Commander Syura..."

The Prime Minister fell to his knees, crying his eyes out and blubbering like an idiot. "Nooooo! My worrisome, foolish son! I had such high hopes for him! Gaaaaahhh!" He cried, holding his face with his hands as he cried. The sight of the Prime Minister crying was obviously awkward to the two Wild Hunt members, who shifted awkwardly. But it was to be expected, after all. Syura was Prime Minister Honest's son, and the Minister had to have loved him deeply-

"Oh well." Honest said, having immediately stopped crying. He smiled as he stood up, chuckling. "I'll just make another one from scratch~. Though I must make sure not to create another failure...extreme care must be taken in choosing the mother, Kufufufu..."

The blonde alchemist was shocked at Honest's quick acceptance of his son's death. _'He can reach closure that quickly and decisively? What an Empire...'_ To be honest, she was starting to regret her decision to join if people like that were in charge...

"Wait, Prime Minister!" Kagami yelled out, sweating slightly as the Prime Minister turned to look at him. "About our previous conversation, don't you think Wild Hunt is more necessary than ever now? With the death of Commander Syura, we've lost an important member of our military force! Not to mention with the rebel known as Tatsumi currently in Night Raid, someone like Esdeath can't be trusted to fully perform up the the task of executing them. As Dorothea as already stated, Esdeath failed to stop the prisoners from escaping...and if it's a question of leadership, I'm more than qualified."

"And where was Wild Hunt during this ordeal?" Honest questioned, narrowing his eyes at Kagami. "I am hardly going to reinstate them if they'll just accomplish nothing. With Syura dead, you've lost far more than just military force." It was a simple statement, but it made it abundantly clear that the extent of Wild Hunt's crimes could no longer go on. Without the Prime Minister's son in the mix, the Prime Minister himself no longer had to turn a blind eye to their missions.

Kagami gulped, but steeled his nerves. "As we had been disbanded, Champ and Enshin were back at HQ preparing to leave. I had positioned Izou near the Throne Room in the event that Night Raid attacked the palace in an attempt to reclaim the prisoners. And as you know, I was speaking to you at the time. Besides, Wild Hunt has more than shown what we can do! We captured three members of the Rebellion; two members of Night Raid, and the last was a bodyguard of the Revolutionary Army Head Commander, not to mention a former member of the Elite Seven!"

Dorothea piped up. "Plus, we _did_ kill the leaders of both Night Raid and the Revolutionary Army. And by looking at their Teigu, they both seemed to be matches for the Invincible Two." Kagami nodded to her in thanks, and she sent a cocky smile his way.

The Prime Minister stayed silent as he reviewed the information, before nodding. "Fine. Wild Hunt is hereby reinstated...but see to it you don't fail as Syura did. Keep the good work up, or I'll disband all of you...permanently." He threatened, before turning and leaving the room. Kagami smirked. Everything had gone better than expected. He looked at Dorothea, who sent him a questioning gaze. Kagami jerked his head to the other door, and the two began walking.

The westerner was the first to break the silence. "You know, you've changed from the man you first were when I met you, Kagami." She said, glancing at him from the corner of her eye. He tilted an eyebrow up, and turned his head to face her with an amusing look of innocence.

"Huh? What do you mean, Dorothea?" He asked, tilting his head. In Kagami's eyes, he hadn't changed at all; he was getting his priorities in order. What others called betrayal, he called 'saving a life'. His own, of course, but still.

Dorothea shook her head. "Even you aren't this stupid...You know what I'm talking about. That was a pretty surprising move back there after all. Taking charge so quickly after the Commander's death...I'm surprised the Prime Minister accepted, considering how suspicious the whole thing was." She finished, looking at his face. Kagami looked forward, a serious expression on his face.

"If you're trying to imply something, then just say it. Syura was a great commander, and I'm sad to see him dead. But it was his own arrogance that did him in; I had nothing to do with it." He denied, still looking forward. Dorothea looked at him a bit more, before smiling in acceptance.

"Whatever you say, Captain-Commander. But I never would've expected someone as laid back as you taking the position. Care to explain on that bit? Before this you probably would've passed the responsibility to me or Izou." the alchemist asked, genuinely curious as to her colleagues reasoning. The man tended to stay to the side of their...investigations, and it was surprising he would volunteer himself so quickly.

The white haired swordsman continued walking, sighed, and began to explain. "If I hadn't have taken control, Honest would've cemented the disbandment and placed us in the Jaegers...under Esdeath's command, and I couldn't let that happen." Dorothea nodded at the reasoning; she, like many of the Palace residents, knew of how poorly Esdeath took Kagami's transfer to Wild Hunt. She considered it a betrayal, and almost killed Kagami at one point had it not been for the timely interruption of Great-General Budo, Commander Syura, and Izou. Even so, Kagami still kept his space from the Jaegers.

"Besides," he continued. "Syura got quite a few prizes in this group he gathered. Even Champ and Enshin are useful, if only for their Teigu and how simple the two of them are. Cosmina possessed an incredible vitality...strong enough to survive an attack from the Revolutionary Commander, who was said to be Esdeath's equal at least in terms of Teigu strength. Then there's you and Izou, of course." Kagami bowed his head with a smile.

Dorothea smirked. "Of course."

Kagami chuckled, but his face soon became serious again. "Hm...we'll have to move quickly following Syura's death. Despite everything, he was our protection against Budo and Esdeath. Izou is strong, but he's a card I don't want to play _just_ yet. First we'll need to fill in our vacancy. I trust you've acquired Syura's corpse?" He asked, smiling when she nodded in response.

"Naturally, Kagami." Dorothea bragged, her hands behind her head. "Cosmina is going along successfully, and Syura had enough of his brain left alive to render him semi-conscious. I'm going to merge him with one of Stylish's Danger Beasts to see what the end result will be." She concluded, smirking evilly. Kagami just smiled, content with the fact she would at least be having fun.

"Good. I hate to ask this of you, but..." Dorothea interrupted him.

"You need to suck up to Honest? Don't worry. I'll get Cosmina and Syura to a point where I don't need to keep an eye on them as much, and I'll make some drug enhancements for the troops. That should be enough to get into his good graces." She already had a few drug enhancements in storage; all she had to do was tweak them a bit, possibly make a vapor version, and she'd be done. "So what are you going to do in the meantime?"

Kagami held his chin in his hand, a habit Dorothea noticed he picked up from Izou. "I'll prepare some assaults on Night Raid, see if I can put Champ and Enshin to good use before they get killed off. They're not good at being low-key, so I might as well use them as beatsticks as long as I still got 'em." He closed his eyes in thought, and continued. "I'll check out the Teigu users in the army, see if I can convince one to join Wild Hunt. I'm going to borrow Izou for assistance, so are you sure you'll be safe?"

Dorothea opened her eyes wider at the sound of... _concern_ in Kagami's voice. She smirked, and elbowed him jokingly in the ribs. "You worry too much, idiot. Cosmina and Syura might not be battle ready, but Team Stylish is still under my employment. Not to mention the other experiments I need to test out. I'll definitely be able to hold off an assassin or two before one of the Invincible Two come."

"They're the ones I want to protect you from." Kagami confessed, looking at Dorothea worriedly. The alchemist looked at him in slight surprise, a light blush layering her face. She turned away, and Kagami clarified his point. "There's no love lost between the Jaegers and Wild Hunt. If Esdeath had her way we would all be executed, and only Syura's presence halted that. With him gone, Esdeath can kill us any time she wants, and Honest can't say a thing about it." He held his head, and shook his head with a sigh. "When I go to find new members, I'll leave Izou here with you. Champ and Enshin too, if they're still around..."

Dorothea stared at him, wondering just what it was about Kagami that made him worry about her. She smiled, and placed a hand on his arm. "Don't worry, commander. It'll take you a while to find new members that Honest will let you keep, and by that time Cosmina should be good to go. I'll have enough protection, so you'll be free to take Izou."

The white-haired commander smiled in relief. "Well, I guess I'll just leave it up to you, Dorothea. If you need help, contact me." Dorothea nodded, before noticing they had come upon her lab. She opened the door, just as Kagami began walking back.

"Kagami..."

Kagami turned his head, and saw as Dorothea smiled at him.

"Thank you." She said, entering her lab and closing the door. Kagami chuckled, scratching his face. He looked up at the night sky outside, and sighed. _'That girl...heh.'_


End file.
